World Hand Hygiene Day 2018
3 May 2018
3 May 2018
St John of God Berwick Hospital has taken part in the World Health Organisation annual Hand Hygiene Day.
Effective hand hygiene is the single most important strategy in preventing health care associated infections.The Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Healthcare engaged Hand Hygiene Australia to implement the Hand Hygiene strategy in hospitals Australia wide. Each hospital's statistics are collected monthly and the figures are published quarterly and measured against the national standards. Within the hospital each department must submit data on Hand Hygiene audits.
Leading up to May 5th, St John of God Berwick Hospital has been working within each of the clinical units to ensure a high compliance with hand hygienec participation.
Audits are based on the 5 moments of Hand Hygiene:
- Before touching a patient
- Before a procedure
- After procedure or body fluid exposure
- After touching a patient
- After touching patient’s surroundings
National Data is collected and the benchmark is set by Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.
2017 benchmark = 80%
2018 benchmark = 86%
St John of God Berwick Hospital has consistently achieved or exceeded these standards. For the first quarter of 2018, the Surgical Unit has produced outstanding Hand Hygiene compliance results at 99%, winning the inaugural trophy for Q1 2018. The trophy was kindly donated by SHULKE Australia who supplies the Angel Hand Hygiene product available at all points where care is delivered. The engraving for the first recipient of the trophy has been generously donated by Laurie Werner at Pakenham Trophies. A grateful recipient of being looked after by SJOG Healthcare.
This is an outstanding result given the first quarter also involved the relocation of the hospital. Credit to the manager of the surgical ward, Leonie Wills, for her hard work with ongoing education and commitment to the Hand Hygiene Initiative.